I’ve spent the last couple days writing posts I’ve then set aside about what we’ve learned in two years about the CDC and FDA and whether they are, institutionally, up to the challenge of managing the crisis of pandemic response. To paraphrase Sonny Corleone, during a pandemic we need a wartime CDC. And it’s clear we don’t have one. The institutional apparatus designed for managing ‘ordinary’ infectious diseases, researching and improving care for chronic maladies simply isn’t designed for what we’ve confronted in the last two years.
Earlier today, we published a moving tribute to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid by his onetime deputy chief of staff, Bill Dauster.
I spoke with another former Reid aide and friend of TPM this afternoon, Jim Manley. A veteran Senate staffer, Manley had worked as a spokesperson and senior communications advisor for Reid while Reid was Senate Majority Leader.
A reminder: The Josh Marshall Podcast is on break the final week of the year. So no podcast today. Kate Riga and I will be back with a new episode on Wednesday, January 5th.
Don’t miss this remembrance of Harry Reid, who died yesterday at the age of 82, from Bill Dauster, former Reid Deputy Chief of Staff and longtime friend of TPM.
